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Friday, October 30, 2015

Here it is, the day before Halloween and I'm beginning to wonder if I should just change this from a weekly blog to an every other week blog, since that seems to be how often I can actually get the bloody thing done! Anyway, it's the end of October and we actually have snow falling from the skies here on the Kenai. Not sure how much accumulation we'll get, but it looks like winter might finally be here at last. Lots of beer stuff happening, so let's jump right in with news and events.

I already made a Breaking News post about this, but at Anchorage Brewing Company today from 2 to 8 PM is Jolly Pumpkin Night, with five different brews from that excellent brewery on tap. Free admission, pay as you go. In addition, the brewery will be releasing a new IPA in its Expiration series. This one is brewed using a new German hop called Manderina Bavaria, Germany's answer to all of the citrusy hops that have been coming out lately. It's also dry hopped with Manderina and a touch of Simcoe at the end. Sounds delicious, so stop by and get some while it lasts! ABC also put a new beer on tap last Sunday, a sour wheat beer called Debbie's Delight.

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Last night, Arkose Brewery celebrated its 4th Anniversary with a Beer Dinner at the Jack Sprat Restaurant in Girdwood. I haven't heard any reports, but based on the menu that was published, I'm sure it was a great time. Congratulations to Arkose Brewery on reaching this milestone.

Speaking of milestones, HooDoo Brewing in Fairbanks will be celebrating its 3rd Anniversary tomorrow, October 31st. There will be a party at the brewery, and the finalists in its annual limerick contest will face off to see who will take home the grand prize and bragging rights for the year.

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Gakona Brewing Company has gotten some of its brews finished and on tap. The Berry Bunny Wheat (5.2% ABV) was on tap at the Texas Roadhouse in Anchorage, but I believe it's all gone now. The Killer Bunny IPA (6.0% ABV) should still be available at the Trapper's Den in Gakona. Plenty of more details in this week's Dr. Fermento Anchorage Press column.

The Quake Brewing Company is working to open on Tudor Road in Anchorage. You can read more about it in Dr. Fermento's column from last week here.

There will be a new beer release event at Denali Brewing Company in Talkeetna tomorrow at noon. Slow Down Brown will be released in cans.

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King Street Brewing has released the first two beers in its new Imperial Series, its Imperial Hefeweizen and Imperial IPA. It will release its Imperial Pilsner of November 13th andits Imperial Stout on December 1st. See my review of the Imperial IPA below.

Midnight Sun Brewing Company has a new beer on tap at The Loft, Hellion Hellesbock, brewed by founder and President Mark Staples as part of the brewery's celebration of its 20th year in business. The beer is 7.7% and 22 IBUs.

Photo courtesy of Midnight Sun BC

Midnight Sun was also recognized with two "The Best of Anchorage" Awards:

Resolution Brewing Company is currently closed for the installation of some new fermenters and to catch up on its brewing. Here's the announcement posted on its Facebook Page:

"Dear loyal RBC fans: We are closing the doors for just this week, Wednesday - Sunday. We'll be getting our 7BBL fermenters up and running and working to get more beers on tap. We will be back open on Nov 4th with four beers ready for glasses and growlers: The Madam, Black Cup Porter, Tent City Saison, and Peak 3 Pale Ale. We are truly sorry for any inconvenience."

Moving on to the Peninsula, construction on the new home to Kenai River Brewing Company is proceeding at a rapid pace. Check out the brewery's Facebook page for the latest pictures, but the walls are going up!

Photo courtesy of Kenai River Brewing Company

At Kassik's Brewery, the barrel-aged Statny Statny Stout is available in bottles at the brewery, and the Imperial Spiced Honey Wheat is on tap at the brewery.

At. St. Elias Brewing Company, here's a list of the current beers:

Zach Henry tells me that Moosejuice Barley Wine will be back on tap soon, along with more of his excellent Czech Pilsner. I'm still trying to convince him to replace his flagship Even Keel Kolsch with this excellent lager.

Moving on to beer reviews, first off, I must note the returns of a trio of my perennial favorites from Midnight Sun Brewing Company.

First up, CoHoHo Imperial IPA. See my review way back on 10/20/2008, written not long after I started this blog. One of my favorite things about fall in Alaska is that this seasonal from MSBC reappears on local shelves. I literally can't get enough of this beer!

Second, Termination Dust Belgian-style Barley Wine. This is another fall seasonal, as its name implies. See my 11/10/2014 review from when it was first released last year. This beer also took Second Place in the Barley Wine Competition at this year's Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival, so it is great to see it back on the shelves as well.

Finally, Pride, a Belgian-style pale ale aged in chardonnay barrels with brettanomyces. The first release of this beer predates the start of this blog by about a year, as it was initially part of MSBC's Deadly Sins Series in 2007. Because of that, I've never actually published a review of it, until now. It poured a slightly cloudy dark honey color with a nice, cream-colored head. The notes of brett funk were clearly evident in the nose, along with some oaky notes from the barrel-aging. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was borderline light to medium. In the flavor profile the brett funkiness was quite evident from the start, along with the vinous, oaky contribution from the barrel aging, before falling away gradually to a long, dry finish. One of the first brett beers I ever had, and still an excellent example of the style. 6.5% ABV, 40 IBUs.

Besides these re-releases, I reviewed two other beers during the last two weeks. The first is a world-class beer, the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen from Brauerei-Heller/Trum in Bamberg, Germany. This is one of the famous smoked beers (rauchbier in German) produced in this region. It poured a very deep ruby color with a nice, persistent cream-colored head. The aroma was of smoke and malt.The carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was nice.The flavor profile was the clean, smooth malt notes you expect from a good marzen, with a nice overlay of smoke from the beechwood used. Subtler than many other smoked beers, its truly is a classic of the style. 5.2% ABV.

Finally, King Street Brewing'sImperial IPA. As mentioned above, this is the second release in the brewery's new Imperial Series, at 8.5% ABV and 85 IBUs.It poured a slightly cloudy copper-gold color with a big off-white head. The nose was full of bright, citrusy notes from American hops. Carbonation was quite good and the mouthfeel was fairly light. In the initial attack there was good but not excessive bitterness, followed by lots of hop flavors and aroma, falling away gradually to a fine, hoppy finish. This is a well-balanced beer, with enough malt backbone to stand up to the massive hop presence, and quite drinkable for an imperial IPA. Well-made and delicious.

That's it for this week. I'll be back next week (or maybe the week after...) with more news and reviews. Meanwhile, be careful on the roads out there, as folks try to remember how to drive on snow again...

Sunday, October 25, 2015

I just received the following breaking news from Gabe Fletcher of Anchorage Brewing Company:

"So we don't make a pumpkin beer here at Anchorage Brewing right now and
maybe never will, but we brought you the next best thing for Halloween
this year:Jolly Pumpkin Night at the brewery!!! Our great friends at Jolly Pumpkin
Artisan Ales sent up five amazing kegs of there beer from there brewery
in Michigan, including there first pumpkin beer ever! So come down to
the brewery this Friday Oct 30th from 2-8pm and try these rare treats we have gathered!"

Friday, October 16, 2015

It's mid-October here on the Kenai Peninsula, but still no snow. Last year, we got out first significant snowfall on October 9th, but here we are a week later with nothing and none in the forecast. Perhaps all the predictions of a warm winter will be accurate. Or maybe Mother Nature is just saving up to give us a super big blast, like she did to Fairbanks a couple of weeks ago. Time will tell, I guess.

Meanwhile, it's two weeks since my last blog. In my defense, I can only say that I have been pretty busy, between teaching my college class, doing presentations and book signings, and taking an on-line class together with my wife. The Peninsula Clarion covered my presentation at Kenai Peninsula College on October 8th and did a front page story on it, which you can read here. Plus I've been watching the baseball playoffs, of course... So let's start playing catch-up.

The really big news is, of course, AB-InBev's buying SABMiller for $104 billion. This deal has been rumored for years, but now it looks like it might actually take place. It will be interesting to see what the US regulators force them to divest, but from my perspective, the biggest impact on/threat to craft breweries may come from the consolidation of distributors. We are lucky here in Alaska to have three distributors (K&L, Odom, and Specialty Imports), each of which handles craft beers. In some areas, there are only two, and one of them handles only AB-InBev, forcing all the craft breweries to use the other. It's much too soon to panic, but the merger process will certainly bear close watching, at least for craft brewers located Outside.

Like Alexander, will Carlo Brito weep because there are no breweries left to buy?

Speaking of distributors, Alaskan Brewing has announced that it is changing its Seattle-distributor to Odom Distributing. Odom has been distributing Alaskan's beers in Eastern Washington since 2004, and now will be handling the Seattle area as well. There is no indication that Alaskan has any plans to change its distribution within Alaska from K&L Distributing to Odom.

Since my last post, both the Eagle River Brewfest and Bodega-fest took place, along with the Great Alaska Beer Train. I wasn't able to attend any of them, but by all reports, they were each a great time. Tomorrow night, Saturday October 17th, will be the Mighty Matanuska Brewfest in Palmer. Here's the poster for it:

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I received the following updates from Darcy Kniefel, Beer Ambassador at Midnight Sun Brewing Company:

"Full Curl Wee Heavy Scotch Ale is BACK! A trusty favorite has returned
for a fall (is that winter out there?) release. Originally brewed in the
late 90's, Full Curl makes an appearance to many a fan's delight from
time to time and we are sneaking him in for some fall sipping. First
pour will happen on Wednesday (10/7) at 11am at The Loft at Midnight Sun and a draft only release will follow in the Anchorage Areas.

BarFly - OH YES! We will be celebrating National Stout Day, November 5th, with this year's release of BarFly Imperial Smoked Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels. Somber and smoky, BarFly Smoked Imperial Stout saunters into the room slowly. Thick smoke. Cool swagger. Good wood. Bit of bourbon. Sticky
leather. Slow glances. Lingering looks. Vanilla. The only thing that
didn’t make the glass was maraschino cherry. Bring your own and…WEAR OUT YOUR WELCOME.
First brewed as part of our 2010 Pop Ten Series, BarFly was added to
our Alaska’s Most Wanted line-up in 2014. Bourbon barrel-aging requires a
long leisure so this beer is not on a set schedule but we hope to get a
batch out about once a year. This will be a very limited release with
some heading to each of our distributors in draft and bottle after the
initial release in November at The Loft.

Toklat Hoppy Golden Ale aged in Chardonnay Barrels was released to a
great reception at the March of Dimes Signature Chef's Auction last week
and what a splash it made! For those looking to get a taste, you will
have to come by the brewery as it is only available through our taps or
cooler. The artwork was provided by local artist Katie Sevigny and the
original artwork went home after the release to a very happy raffle
winner! Grab your own version of the artwork on the bottle, and enjoy
this oaky golden with Nelson Sauv hops, the fruit mingles with the
barrel in a magical tango. A portion of all proceeds goes to March of
Dimes. Very limited edition, get yours now!"

Personally, I'm very excited to see Full Curl make a re-appearance. It was always a personal favorite of mine, and I was bummed when it went out of regular production a few years back.

On Wednesday, King Street Brewing Company released the first of four beers in the brewery's new Imperial Series. The first beer was an Imperial Hefeweizen. Here's how owner Shane Kingry described it:

Photo courtesy of King Street Brewing

"King StreetImperial Hefeweizen has roots that were
inspired by our own tap room attendants that blend IPA and Hefeweizen.
King Street’s Imperial Hefeweizen is brewed to artfully blend a
strengthened version of a classical Bavarian Hefeweizen with New World
citrusy hops to create an incredible new bouquet of aromas and flavors."

The beers are in 750-ml screen-printed bottles, as well as limited draft distribution around town. The next beer in the series, King Street's Imperial IPA, will be released next Wednesday, 10/21.

Today in Anchorage is the release of Resolution Brewing Company's first collaboration beer, Black Cup Porter:

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Arkose Brewery in Palmer celebrated its 4th Anniversary this month and has begun bottling its four flagship beers. Here's a photo, courtesy of Arkose, that shows its new bottles:

Congratulations to Stephen & June, and the rest of the folks at Arkose on reaching both these important milestones.

Here on the Peninsula, Kenai River Brewing Company continues to make good progress on the construction of its new brewery. The pour of the concrete for the brewery's floor was completed on Monday, and the walls will be up soon.

Photo courtesy of KRBC

At Kenai River's current brewery, Arctic XPA is back on tap, at least for the moment. The Winter Warlock Old Ale is still on and drinking extremely well. The KRBC Tap Room in Soldotna is getting to be a little like Rick's Cafe in Casablanca, as in "Everybody comes to Rick's". I was in there last Friday and snapped this picture:

Soldotna's Mayor-elect Pete Sprague meeting with his constituents

Kassik's Brewery will be teaming with 1 Crazy Cupcake for a series of events pairing beer and cupcakes. The first event scheduled for Thursday, October 22th, from noon to 7 PM at the brewery. Subsequent events are on November 5th & 19th. The event lasts all day, but the supply of cupcakes is limited so RSVP at 776-4055 to reserve yours. On tap at the brewery: the 2009 Barley Wine and the 2014 Smoked Russian Imperial Stout, as well as last keg of the Apricot Wheat. Coming soon: Barrel-Aged Statny Stanty.

No changes to the tap list at St. Elias Brewing since my last blog, but it does have some swanky new tap handles.

New tap handles made by Adams Fabrication

Finally, a short personal note. I'll be doing another signing of my books next weekend at River City Books in Soldotna. I'll be there from noon to 3 PM on Saturday, 10/24, if you need an autographed copy for yourself or perhaps as a gift for someone else. It's not too early for Christmas shopping, you know.

With the news done, let's move on to beer reviews. I only have two this week, along with a quasi-review. Let's do the quasi-review first.

Kenai River Brewing's2015 Winter Warlock Old Ale: I don't really have a new review of this beer, as Doug Hogue consistently produces the same excellent brew year after year. Almost a year of cold-conditioning produces an exceptionally clean-tasting brew. So rather than repeat myself, I'll just refer you to my review on 9/8/2008 and add that you really don't want to miss out on experiencing this annual fall treat. A truly outstanding old ale.

Brouwerij de Molen'sHeaven & Hell Russian Imperial Stout: Another leftover from The Culmination, this beer poured opaque with a nice tan head that left good lacing as it slowly dissipated to a collar. The aroma was roasty and rich, promising a very intense experience. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was thick and chewy, which is how I like my imperial stouts. The flavor profile was rich and complex, heavy with both roasted and sweet malt notes. A definite sipper at 10.2% ABV, this was an excellent Russian Imperial Stout from The Netherlands.

Stone Brewing's Ruination Double IPA 2.0: First things first: I picked this off the shelf at Country Liquors in Kenai on 10/7/2015 and got around to opening it on 10/13/2015, at which point I noticed it had an "enjoy by" date of 10/6/2015. So shame on me for not checking it in the store, and I'm sure the folks at Stone would say that I shouldn't even review this bottle. However, I'm going to do so anyway, mainly because I thought the beer, despite being a week out of date, was still excellent. It poured clear gold with a big white head. The aroma was loaded with bright, slightly citrusy American hops. Carbonation was excellent, and the mouthfeel was light. The initial bitter attack was not excessive, and was followed by tons of hop flavor. As much as I liked the Stone's original Ruination Ale, I think this beer is a significant improvement, with more hop flavor and less palate-wrecking hop bitterness. If you like a good DIPA, I highly recommend you hunt up a bottle of this beer, preferably prior to its enjoy by date. 8.5% ABV.

Well, that's about it for this post. Hopefully I'll get a blog out next week, with more news and reviews, but you never know. Expect it when you see it.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Hello again, craft beer fans. I had hoped to get this out early in the week, but I was overcome by events (again). I hope everyone is busily enjoying their Permanent Fund Dividend, as I've got a feeling we won't get too many more like this one. At least we can each spend some of it on some good local craft beer. Anyway, let's move on the awards, news, and reviews.

AWARDS:

Congratulations to Jay Bullen and the rest of his brew team at 49th State Brewing for earning a Gold Medal at this year's Great American Beer Festival in Denver. His Smoked Marzen (reviewed back on 8/1/2013) took gold in the Smoked Beer Category. A frequent past winner in this category has been Alaskan Brewing'sSmoked Porter, but this year the little brewery from Healy took home the prize. If you's like to sample this brew, you'd better hurry, as 49th State closes for the winter after tomorrow's big Halloween Party.

Also at the Great American Beer Festival, the North American Guild of Beer Writers announced the winners of its 2015 Beer Writing Awards. Awards were made in nine different categories, and you can see the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in all of them here. I'd like to call your attention to the 1st place winner in the Local/Regional Category: Alaska Beer: Liquid Gold in the Land of the Midnight Sun by yours truly! It's always great to be recognized by your peers, and I'm very excited that all my hard work researching and writing that book paid off, as well as the superb photos by my wife Elaine. While we are talking about the book, I will be doing a reading/signing session at 4 PM tomorrow at the Soldotna Public Library, with part of the proceeds going to benefit the Friends of the Library. I will also be doing a presentation on the role of beer and brewing in Alaska history on Thursday, October 8, at 6:30 PM in The Commons at Kenai Peninsula College. This presentation is part of the KPC Showcase series.

1st Place!

NEWS:

The October issue of Alaska Airlines Magazine has a nice article about brewing and distilling in Alaska. You can read it at http://www.paradigmcg.com/digitaleditions/abm-1015/index.html. The writer actually called and talked to me for about an hour in August regarding the history of beer and brewing in Alaska, and you'll see that I was quoted in the article.

Just-opened Odd Man Rush Brewing Company has posted its hours of operation:

Wednesday thru Saturday: noon to 8 PM
Sunday: noon to 5 PM
The Chef Stop food truck will be on site Thursday thru Saturday, 5 to 8 PM. Here's a copy of its menu:

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Resolution Brewing Company has just purchased two new 7-barrel fermenters, which are twice the size of its current 3.5-barrel ones. It also has the excellent Ixelles Belgian Tripel back on tap. Today the brewery will be opening a new show in its taproom for First Friday by photographer Kristen Swann.

Photo courtesy of Resolution Brewing

Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse will be celebrating Oktoberfest with a special dinner on Saturday, October 10th. Here's the flier for it:

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Midnight Sun Brewing Company released a new beer yesterday: Toklat Blonde. It's a blonde ale aged in chardonnay barrels and named after the grizzly bears on Denali. It is a one-shot release, so get it while you can.

Photo courtesy of Mark Staples

Anchorage Brewing Company has announced that in a couple of weeks it will be tapping its first cask-conditioned beer, a firkin of its Triple IPA. The brewery also has cheese from the famous Trappist monastery Chimay available in the taproom. I had some of this cheese several years ago, and belive me, it's amazing!

Photo courtesy of Anchorage Brewing Company.

Also Anchorage Brewing Company Owner Gabe Fletcher is on the cover of the latest issue of The Beer Connoisseur:

Kodiak Island Brewing Company was featured in the latest issue of Brew Your Own Magazine. Its Oktoberfest beer was the subject of the magazine's "Replicator" column.

Here on the Peninsula, both Kenai River Brewing Company and St. Elias Brewing Company have new beers on tap.

At Kenai River Brewing, October 1st means the annual release of its Winter Warlock Old Ale. This year, things were even more exciting with the release of a limited amount of barrel-aged Winter Warlock. I hear that the barrel-aged stuff was gone in a couple of hours, but there's still plenty of the classic Winter Warlock available, so stop by and grab some of this excellent brew.

Kenai River chalkboard. The right-hand column now says "Winter Warlock"!

At St. Elias Brewing Company, there are three new beers on tap: H&H East India Porter, Czech Pilsner, and Oktoberfest Lager. All three are reviewed below.

St. Elias chalkboard as of 10/1/2015

I think that about does it for news, so let's do some reviews.

REVIEWS:

A new craft beer documentary is being released today on iTunes: Blood, Sweat & Beers is directed by Chip Hiden and focuses on two craft breweries, one in Ocean City, MD, which is already open, and a new craft brewery trying to open in the decayed steel-town of Braddock, PA. Interspersed between the two stories are interviews with craft brewers from around the country, talking about the present state and future of craft brewing in the US. The stories of the two breweries are very engaging, especially that of Danny Robinson, whose boardwalk brewery in Ocean City is facing a potentially devastating trademark lawsuit. The film is well-shot and visually interesting, as well as being an engaging look at the challenges facing small craft brewers in today's marketplace. Full disclosure: I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign which made this film a reality and I'm glad I did, as it's an excellent look at the current state of play in the craft brewing industry. If you'd like to watch it, Blood Sweat & Beers can be found on iTunes at http://apple.co/1iMfp56. Here is a trailer:

Now let's move on to some beer reviews.

Holy Mountain Brewing'sThe Gray Tower: Another leftover from The Culmination, this beer poured a clear, light gold with a big white head. The aroma spritely, with a mix of brett funk and oak. Carbonation was good, and its mouthfeel was light. On the palate it was tart but effervescent. The brett was noticeable but not overbearing. Very refreshing and enjoyable. 5.3% ABV.

Alaskan Brewing'sHeritage Coffee Brown Ale: The latest beer in Alaskan's Pilot Series, this beer uses coffee from Heritage Coffee Roasting Company. In fact, some of the malt was also roasted with the coffee beans. The beans were then cold-brewed to reduce the acidity and the resulting coffee was added at various points throughout the process. The beer-poured a semi-translucent brown with a cream-colored head. The nose was not as roasty as many coffee beers, with sweet malt notes present along with the roasted coffee ones. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was nice. On the palate there was good balance between the flavor elements from the coffee and the malt. On the subtle side as coffee beers go, but I think that's what they were aiming for. 7% ABV.

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project'sColorado Wild Sage Brett Saison: Also a leftover from The Culmination. The beer poured a clear gold with a small white head that left good lace on the glass. The aroma mixed notes of lemon grass and sage with brett funkiness. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was light. On the palate the beer was tart with spicy notes from the herbs used. Personally, I prefer my saisons without spices, but this one was well-made and the spice notes were not overly aggressive. 7.2% ABV.

St. Elias Brewing Company's H&H East India Porter: As the name implies, this beer was another collaborative project between myself
and Zach Henry. To learn the background on this historic beer style
read my latest column in The Redoubt Reporter. The beer poured very dark in color but with some ruby highlights and a nice mocha-colored head. The nose was primarily roasted and chocolate malt notes. Carbonation was good and the mouthfeel was medium. On the palate, the bitterness and the body were fairly balanced, which was slightly surprising, given how heavily hopped the beer was. We used English malts and East Kent Goldings exclusively in the brew. OG was 1064 and FG was 1019, for 5.9% ABV. I realize I am a bit biased, but I think this beer tasted outstanding, and I strongly suggest you give it a try.

St. Elias Brewing Company'sCzech Pilsner: Zach Henry contiues to demonstrate his master of the art of making pilsners. Each beer he releases in this style seems better than the last, and I truly wish he would replace his Even Keel Kolsch flagship beer with this Czech Pilsner. It poured a crystal clear gold with a nice white head. The aroma was full of the noble Saaz hops that define a classic pilsner, backed up with some biscuity malt notes. Carbonation was excellent and the mouthfeel was light. On the palate there was the clean, crisp bitterness you expect in a good pilsner, balanced with nice, fresh malt, before falling away to a crisp, clean finish. Every time I taste a really well-made pilsner, I am reminded again why this style took the world by storm a century and a half ago. As I said, hopefully one day this beer will be a flagship brew at St. Elias, but until then, you need to enjoy it while you can.

St. Elias Brewing Company's Oktoberfest Lager: It's that time of year, so we are again treated to the release of this excellent marzen/Oktoberfest brew. It poured a rich, honey color in the glass, with a small, cream-colored head. The nose is of clean malt flavors. The carbonation is good and the mouthfeel is medium. Clean malt flavors dominate is this beer, with the hops providing the balance to keep things from getting too sweet. Rich and satisfying, this beer heralds the coming of autumn and warns us to get ready, as winter is just around the corner.

That's it for this blog. If you'll be in Soldotna, remember I'll be at the Public Library at 4 PM on Saturday, October 3, and at Kenai Peninsula College at 6:30 PM on Thursday, October 8.

Earned for Alaska Beer: Liquid Gold in the Land of the Midnight Sun

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Who am I?

I'm a retired naval officer, and I have also retired from my second career as the Student Services Director of a community campus that is part of the University of Alaska. These days I am a full-time freelance writer on beer and other subjects. I've been homebrewing and drinking craft beer for over twenty years. I teach a college course called The Art & History of Brewing. I write a monthly beer column for The Redoubt Reporter newspaper. I am the Alaska Correspondent for the Northwest Brewing News, and I was selected as Wynkoop Brewing's 2010 Beerdrinker of the Year.